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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1840
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(As Amended by Senate Amendment No. 1)

 
3    WHEREAS, 529 college savings plans are important tools for
4Illinoisans, offering a diverse range of investment options,
5tax-deferred growth, tax-deductions benefits, and withdrawals
6free of State and federal taxes when those withdrawals are used
7for qualified higher education expenses such as tuition, fees,
8books, computers, certain room and board costs, and required
9supplies; and
 
10    WHEREAS, 529 prepaid tuition plans provide a valuable tool
11for Illinoisans to prepay for future community college or
12university study, reducing the uncertainty associated with
13rising tuition rates while providing federal and State tax
14benefits; and
 
15     WHEREAS, The enactment of Section 529 of the Internal
16Revenue Code by Congress in 1996 allowed states to create
17"Qualified Tuition Programs"; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The Office of the Illinois State Treasurer serves
19as the Trustee and Administrator for all Illinois 529 College
20Savings Plans; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The Bright Start and Bright Directions College

 

 

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1Savings Plans were created in Illinois in 2000 and 2005
2respectively, to assist Illinois families to finance the costs
3associated with a college education; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Today, over 400,000 accounts have been created in
5Illinois and over $7 billion has been saved for future higher
6education expenses; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The Bright Start and Bright Directions College
8Savings Plans have helped families meet their higher education
9goals with over $400 million withdrawn annually for qualified
10higher education expenses at colleges and universities in
11Illinois and throughout the United States; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The College Illinois! Prepaid Tuition Program was
13established in Illinois in 1997 to help make college possible
14for Illinois families; and
 
15     WHEREAS, More than 30,000 students have attended college
16using over $725 million in College Illinois! benefits; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In the 2015-16 school year alone, more than 10,000
18students are using College Illinois! benefits to attend the
19school of their choice, including at private and out-of-state
20institutions; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In Illinois, over the past 15 years, average
2tuition and fees at public four-year universities have risen at
3over four times the rate of inflation, and over the past 40
4years, tuition and fees have increased by more than twice the
5rate of inflation; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Financial assistance has shifted away from grants
7to providing access toward student loans so that today nearly
860% of all federal financial aid is in the form of loans,
9substantially increasing the number of college graduates who
10will face the burden of repaying significant student loan debt
11upon entering the workforce; and
 
12    WHEREAS, According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,
13student loan debt has now reached $1.2 trillion nationally,
14which is more than triple the amount owed in 2005; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Americans are burdened with student loan debt as
16there are 40 million borrowers with an average balance of
17$29,000; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The Illinois College Savings Plans and Prepaid
19Tuition Program help families to limit or prevent future
20student loan debt by helping them save or prepay for future
21higher education expenses; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The investments families make today pay off in the
2form of increased earning potential for their children in the
3future, with a college graduate earning an average of $1
4million more than a high school graduate during his or her
5career according to the United States Census Bureau; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In Illinois, the dream of achieving academic and
7professional success is being threatened by increasing tuition
8rates and decreasing financial aid; and
 
9    WHEREAS, May 29th is recognized nationally as 529 College
10Savings Day to raise awareness across the country about the
11benefits of tax-advantaged college savings and prepaid tuition
12plans known respectively as 529 College Savings Plans and 529
13Prepaid Tuition Plans, as important vehicles to save for
14college; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
16ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate May 29,
172016 as 529 College Savings Day in the State of Illinois to
18help raise awareness about the escalating costs of higher
19education and the importance of saving for college with the
20help of 529 college savings and prepaid tuition plans.